Aburria aburri is found on the slopes of the north and central Andes, from north-west Venezuela (where it is now very rare[Silva 1999]) through Colombia (locally common but generally scarce) and Ecuador to southern Peru (del Hoyo 1994, Parker et al. 1996, Doneganet al.2001); it is almost certainly extinct on the west slope of the Andes (del Hoyo 1994, Strahl et al. 1994). In most areas it is described by local hunters as extremely rare (Strahl and Brooks 2000). Its range has decreased by 50% in Venezuela (Rojas-Suárez et al. 2008), and perhaps even more in Colombia where 70% of its habitat has been lost (Ríos et al. 2006).

It inhabits wet montane forest, forest edge and and tall secondary growth adjacent to primary forest, and has been recorded at elevations of 500-2,500 m. It may undertake some seasonal altitudinal movements, but the exact nature of these is still unclear (del Hoyo 1994). It feeds on fruit, usually in pairs or groups of three. An estimate of 0.87 birds/km2 in 489 ha of the Central Cordillera of Colombia in 2002-2003(Ríos et al. 2005) suggests the species occurs at low population densities.

Deforestation has been most prevalent in the Andes within this altitudinal range. Habitat destruction, mainly through clearance for agriculture, remains the major threat (del Hoyo 1994), but its noisy habits and tendency to stay high in the branches make it particularly vulnerable to hunting for food and sport (del Hoyo 1994, Strahl et al. 1994). In Venezuela hunting is the main threat and it is only relatively frequent in remote, newly-opened forests in regions like Perijá (Sharpe, pers. comm. 2011). In parts of Colombia hunting restrictions enforced by guerrilla groups, and the use of land mines in forested areas, provide a certain amount of protection(Doneganet al.2001). In addition to hunting, logging is a major threat in Ecuador and Peru (Ríos et al. 2006).